Mourning an Angel
by QueenCate
Summary: [ONESHOT] Veronica must mourn the death of yet another friend as she prepares to discover the real reason behind her friend's death.


A warm drop of water slid down her cheek. Whether it was the rain or her tears, she didn't know; it was getting hard to tell. It seemed as if Mother Nature herself had joined the people of Neptune in mourning their fallen angel. From the looks of it, most of the school had turned out, both 09'ers and non-09'ers, united in their grief for the kindly girl who had touched so many. They didn't go so far as to stand intermingled with one another, but it was a start. Even her friends, who had been touched the most by her kindness, a real rarity in this little Melrose Place reminiscent town, were surprised by the turn-out. It surpassed even that for Lilly Kane's funeral, a testament to what a truly wonderful person Meg had been. Her supposedly grieving parents looked for all the world to be devastated but one person knew better. She couldn't be positive yet, but she thought at least a few others joined her in her doubt. Her father, for one, and Duncan, the father of Meg's baby. And one more surprising possibility: Sheriff Lamb. He kept eyeing the Mannings with carefully disguised suspicion, but Veronica saw straight through the mask of indifference as if it wasn't even there. She felt him eyeing her whenever her head was turned, her eyes focused on the minister even if her mind wasn't. She didn't need to hear what he had to say. Undoubtedly it would be very similar to what had been said at Lilly's funeral and all it would prove was this minister didn't know Meg any better than he had known Lilly. So she instead concentrated on everything she had discovered about the Mannings in the past months, everything Meg had said about them both before and after the crash, trying to find some link, however vague, that would explain how Meg had died. Yes, she knew the official reason. A blood clot had supposedly killed her friend, but Veronica didn't buy that. Call it instinct, madness, whatever you want; she knew there was more to Meg's death than anyone had let one. A wave of déjà vu washed over her then and she recalled another day a little over two years ago. The weather had been a stark contrast to the current rain and cold. A warm, bright day. The kind that used to be filled with promises of laughter and fun. A cruel reminder of what they had lost, of what that day would mark. But one crucial element remained the same: the pall of grief and loss that filled the air, settling heavily around the grieving people as they mourned once again.

A particularly sharp sob broke through Veronica morbid reverie, bringing her crashing back to a reality she wished was a nightmare. The minister had stepped aside, inviting Meg's family and friends to throw flowers and mementos onto her casket. Veronica stepped forward, joining several of her fellow students and ignoring the dagger-like glares she knew the Mannings were shooting at her and closed her eyes for a brief moment, as if to compose herself, before gently tossing a yellow rose onto the casket. A flash of white and a soft rustling of paper in the wind drew the attention of several people, among them Duncan and Sheriff Lamb. Duncan asked her silently what it was as she resumed her place at his side and Sheriff Lamb fixed her with that supposed-to-be scary glare of his that was actually comical under brighter conditions. Veronica whispered, "Later," to Duncan and set about avoiding Sheriff Lamb's gaze as she waited for the somber ceremony to end, knowing he would confront her the first chance he got.

Sure enough, as Veronica followed her dad to the car, Lamb appeared at her side. She didn't break stride, but instead veered off to the side a little, for privacy. She waved her dad on and turned to face Lamb.

"What did you write on that paper, Mars?" Lamb asked, getting straight to point.

"What paper?" she asked innocently.

Lamb's eyes blazed and Veronica wished she could come up with a witty one liner, but she was too exhausted. "Fine, you don't wanna tell me? Fine. I'll find out what you're up to, Veronica Mars. Mark my words."

"Well I'm just shaking in high heels now," Veronica answered, her brain having finally supplied one of her trademark sarcastic comments, before turning and leaving. She couldn't let Lamb in on her investigation. Not yet. She didn't know who she could trust yet.

Blinking back a new wave of tears, Veronica thought about the note she had tied to Meg's flower. It didn't matter if her friend couldn't read it. Veronica needed to let her friend know someway that she hadn't given up.

_Meg,_

_I know what happened to you wasn't an accident. Not the bus crash and not the blood clot. I will find out what really happened and when I do, the people that did this to you will pay. Trust me. They will._

_Love always,_

_Veronica_

And she wasn't lying. She would find out who sabotaged that bus and who had killed Meg. Sure, some people might say been there, solved that and take the official cause of death as the truth, but since when was Veronica Mars most people? She had a hard year ahead of her, but she was ready. She had to do this. For Meg. And for her daughter, Veronica Lillian Grace Kane, for whom Meg had told Veronica she wanted nothing more than a normal life. Yeah, Meg always did have a sense of humor.


End file.
